A familiar voice calls out over the speakers of Lexicon's computer. When a screen showing video of a black-haired DCC appears in the corner, though, Lexicon immediately mouses over it and closes the panel, eliciting a shocked squeak from the caller that appropriately cuts short.

Just as Lexicon gets back to the game she's playing, the screen reappears right in the middle, "Lex--!" Without skipping a beat, she closes it again.

Not even a second later, the pane returns, enlarged so that the edges are beyond the monitor edges. Dominating the monitor is the fuming, red-faced girl from before. With a sigh, Lexicon surrenders, closing her eyes, "Damnit. What do you want? I'm trying to relax here."

"You gave your contacts to SALTAVI, of all people?! And Alea?!" the furious girl shouts. Lifting a hand, she points, "Give me that information, too! It's only fair since you've been expanding your influence!"

Brow knitting, Lexicon closes her eyes with a sigh, "...Fine."

--

Welcome to Vector, the Onyx City of Design.

'Factory' immediately comes to mind. Because this place has a LOT of them arranged in a grid pattern. Industrial blocks are separated by multi-level roads, and the entire thing radiates from the center-- a great, black spire that looks like a combination between a church, an industrial complex, and decorative architecture. Great 'wings' of roofwork made out of ornate emerald-colored metal, supported by brass, make it immediately recognizable.

A latticework of high-level catwalks run between the much taller buildings, while shorter structures seem to aspire towards it.

While Vector's aesthetic screams industry, waffling between steampunk and brass in some districts, and hyper-advanced industrial automation in others, there's none of the expected pollution. Everything runs off the Resource network. Here, the characteristic glowing lines of Resource pathways glow a deep purple, almost like how one might imagine 'black' things glowing.

The System Bus deposits the invited guests to the main terminal in Vector. It's located within the city, on one of the mid-height structures that gives visitors a view of the city from above, rather than the possible claustrophobia of the streets at ground level.

Of more immediate interest would be the white-haired woman floating a few meters up and away from the Terminal platform. Clad in a recognizable black bodysuit with white accents, held aloft on wings with feathers shaped like glowing blue diamonds, with metallic Processor pieces floating beside her hips and shoulders. Most telling would be the Resource symbols glowing in her pupils.

Less immediately interesting is a black-haired girl in a black dress, seated off to the side, playing something noisy on her phone.

Silica has posed: Off the bus steps a fairly plain looking human girl. Brown hair done in a neat pair of sidetails with little red ornaments covering the ties. She's carrying a little white bundle of something or other in her arms, which stirs then the girl adjusts her arms, lifting its angular dragon head to look around, before stretching and taking wing, doing a little coil around the young woman, before landing on her shoulder.

Keiko Ayano has a leg in a brace! Her right leg showing signs of having, relatively recently, been badly fractured at least. It doesn't seem to be slowing her down, and her Avatar should bouy her physically up to fight, at least she hopes so. Brown eyes look over at the girl sat nearby, then at the obvious DCC floating above the platform. She bows lightly to the latter. "Hello, I'm Keiko Ayano, thank you for meeting us."

Asterios (1137) has posed:There is a minotaur here, as there has been on many different occasions in this strange computer system of a universe. Of course, it'd be hard to tell that he's even present right now. Not because it's not obvious that he's here (HE IS A GIANT MINOTAUR MAN), but because he's being... extremely quiet. Silent, even. His face is a quiet, observant :> as he...

...Is looming over that black-dressed girl's shoulder, peering like a curious child at the game she's playing on that handheld console.

...

......

jiiiiiiiii

Krusty (1149) has posed: As Krusty steps off a System Bus he tugs at each of his sleeves, fixing up his uniform. Then after adjusting his glasses he takes in the sight of this city. Each that he has been to in this world has proved rather interesting and Vector is no different. In particular, the multilayered design is, in his own words, "Impressive." In some aspects the city's design reminds him of one or two dungeons he's explored previously.

But there'll be more time for viewing the sights. For now he turns his attention to the obvious leader of the city, recognizing the style of a DCC. Placing his hand against his chest he bows to her, "I am Krusty, representative of Akihabara's Round Table Alliance. It is a pleasure to be your guest here."

Briefly glancing at the others that are also arriving, Krusty shows a look of concern at the sight of Silica's player in a brace, "Ah, Miss Ayano. Are you alright?"

Deelel has posed:nWell now here Deelel is again in another system, and it had been her main focus in the multiverse as of late. Tessler had been quiet which was it's own problem, there was little she could do about that for now. So here she was in Onyx which she was quite curious about looking at the Industrial city? Deelel had some level of enjoyment taking in the design of the place it was messy sure but she'd long come ot be able to handle the cocnept of things getting drity and messy.

Keiko would find that Deelel was coming p behind her and grinning before she too introduced herself. 5R "Greetings Program the ID is Deelel! I'm a multi-media program."

Arthur Lowell has posed: Arthur wanders off the bus, grinning widely as usual, and takes in the sights, shifting to a floaty, weightless drift. "HELL," He says. "This place is lookin' MAD BUSY. Really putting the MAGNITUDE in DIRECTION AND MAGNITUDE on VECTOR, huh? DAMN, DOG!" He zips around his own center of gravity like a strange sea creature when he looks at fresh angles, before he fires a wave at Deelel. "YO!" He calls out. "WHAT'S GOOD, homie! Good seein' ya!" He immediately assaults her hand with his classic handshake, and this one has a sort of half-backpat in it for someone he's more familiar with.

Then, the white-haired woman and the black-haired girl. The white-haired woman first, obviously. "Yooooooooooo!" He calls out, moving in to assault her hand in much a similar way. An excess of pounds, bumps, low-fives, daps, and funny little slidy finger-wiggly motions, as always. "Here to get that MEET AND GREET on, dog! Name's ARTHUR LOWELL! ROCKET-POWERED JERK, INTERGALACTIC HOOLIGAN, PROFESSIONAL ADVENTURER. What's those HAPS up in VECTOR, homie? Been hearing about OMEGA PANZER up in this motherfucker."

Lexicon has posed: The game-playing black-hair doesn't seem to notice she's being observed so closely. She taps a foot to the music playing in some kind of jet shooting title, colorful bullet patterns spraying across her phone's screen while she maneuvers a small plane between them. Voices catch her attention though, and she taps a pause button before she glances up to squint suspiciously at the shady characters addressing Obviously The Drive Core Controller.

She catches something from the corner of her eye.

Conati turns a bit more, coming face to abs with Asterios. She blinks, leaning back to look up until she finds his face. With a start, she jumps back, bringing her hands up defensively, "--Whoa!"

A shout that gets Onyx Soul's attention, her eyes glancing that direction before returning to those immediately in front of her. She'd watched Asterios arrive, he doesn't seem to be a threat. And if he is, well, she's /right/ here, and it's not like Conati is defenseless. Lifting her arms, Onyx Soul folds them neatly across her chest, "Welcome to Vector."

A second nod, "And yourself, miss Ayano. You've assisted during the System Tower, as I recall." Her eyes shift to the brace on the girl's leg, though Krusty actually addresses Keiko about it, so Onyx Soul doesn't pursue it. Instead, she greets Deelel next, "Welcome. Multimedia, then?" Head tilting, she shifts a hand to touch her chin with her thumb, "Though you don't seem to be a native of Cadenza... Systems outside the System, very interesting--"

SUDDENLY, ARTHUR

The Afterusian deity getting up in Onyx Soul's grill with his excessive volume and energy completely catches her off guard. She actually goes for her weapon, a massive blade materializing when she brings her left hand back, only to stay it when the Space Jerk goes for a crazily complicated handshake instead of attacking her.

Her face is a wonder to behold during this bewildering exchange: A mix of offense, surprise, and complete confusion. Right around when Arthur's 'handshake' ends, she's engulfed in a plume of pixellated light, dropping to the ground in her normal form with a distinct 'what the hell, man?' look on her face.

After a moment, the woman-turned-teenager closes her eyes, coughing into one hand to clear her throat. She tries to act regal again when she speaks up, but the effect is significantly diminished when it's coming from a girl with her hair in pigtails, "R-right. Omega Panzer, is that what you all came about?"

Silica has posed: Keiko looks over to Krusty. "I'm fine! Just, after that fight with Barbarossa, I went to a hospital back home and they told me my shin was fractured. They had some stuff left over from the old Union, rapid regeneration tech they built up, but I couldn't afford a full treatment, so they did what I could afford, and put the brace on to let it heal the rest of the way naturally." she explains. "My avatar should support me for battle... I'm just not going to be backflip kicking any cannonballs anytime soon." she adds, giggling softly.

SUDDENLY ARTHUR!

Keiko looks bemused at the Afterusian, then sighs softly, petting Pina's head to relieve the stress. "Yeah, we heard about the viruses being a problem in the other Drives than Britannica, so, we thought we'd help out! It's what we do!" she replies, after Onyx Soul returns to being Struo.

Krusty (1149) has posed: Krusty is no less bewildered by Arthur's actions than poor Onyx Soul. He's heard the man speak on radio channels before so is aware of his punk attitude, though seeing it in person is another thing entirely. But Krusty does his best to ignore the strange behaviour as he turns his focus onto Keiko. After her explanation he nods in understanding and gives her a smile, "A rather awesome display as it was, it's good that there's no permanent damage."

With Onyx Soul turning into her more casual form, Krusty nods in response to her question, "Indeed. Though it would also be interesting to see more of your city as well, if possible." Krusty can't deny that he's had some fun touring the others that he has seen so far. At the very least it would be interesting to see more of the unusual architecture designs.

Deelel has posed:Deelel had not expected to see Arthur again for a numner of human Life times if ever she new he was. She id disatracted as ARthur arrives and she just forgets herself as Arhtu would find Deel moving into just hug him, hopefully she will recall he likely needs to breath right?

"ARTHUR! I didn't think I would see you again for mellisna!" She might legt go after a moment as she gets herself back togehter it's clear she's really, really happy to see Arthur.

When she fdinally let goes she looks a bit sheepish. "Ah heh heh thank you for the welcome, and I just go by Deelel I admit."

Asterios (1137) has posed:In Asterios' defense, it's a strong will indeed that can avoid being distracted by flashing lights and catchy tunes. He actually turns and sways every so often when the black-hair swivels her jet around to dodge through enormous patterns of bullets. It's thrilling stuff!

Also thrilling stuff: ASTERIOS' INCREDIBLE ABS.

seriously you can probably cut glass on those things

"Aa," Asterios blinks when the girl jumps back. He knows how to deal with this. The minotaur reaches a great big hand forward and... Gently pats her head with a gentle, innocent smile. "It's... okay. Was just watching you play. What is that game called?"

Beat.

Oh! That pretty white-haired girl just... turned into a still-pretty but more uh. Youthful. Black-haired girl. Of course, Asterios has seen that kind of thing before, and doesn't seem to be too perturbed as a result, though he does wince somewhat at Arthur's... loudness.

"Omega Panzer...?" Asterios cants his head. "I just came... To visit. What is this Omega Panzer? Another virus?"

Arthur Lowell has posed: Deelel being more huggy than he expected sends Arthur for a bit of a loop. This is one of the various Sudden Unexpected Hugs he's gotten in the past couple days. It's so strange! And awkward for him to deal with, considering his own unique private feelings on affection. Despite coming out of the hug looking a little like he's been through a tumbledryer, weirdly tense and such, he still seems to be quite friendly to Deelel, his old ally. "HELL YEAH, figured I'd be up in there for WAY LONGER. Turns out there was some TIME WARP stuff, glad hearin' it wasn't too long." He pounds a final greeting.

Okay, back to harassing the natives.

"Yeah girl yeah gimmie that skin." Arthur mutters eagerly as he hassles the hand of the local guardian deity. He seems to relish his ability to utterly catch people off-guard and overwhelm them with his shenanigans. "Hell yeah, here to do some HEROISM up in that motherfucker. Trying to take down a straight MONSTER BADDIE right?" He does a motion that's all at once a gesture of confidence, a gesture of triumph, and an actual flex. "Got those MONSTER-SLAYING RANKS. Also I know /fuckin' NOTHING/ about VECTOR, got ZERO NETWORK COVERAGE on this rad son of a bitch. What's the DEAL up in here?" He gestures all around. "Looks TOO DAMN COOL, dog. HELLA BUSY, for real."

Yeah, Keiko and Krusty are having entirely the correct reaction to this absurd weirdo suddenly showing up. Arthur's obnoxious shenanigans continue with full momentum. "Hit me with that LOCAL LOWDOWN, dog! I wanna get you bros HOOKED UP on SYNDIE-NET hardcore. Haven't done ANYTHING with the SYSTEM STUFF before but just DUMP THAT DATA and I'll pro'lly CATCH UP as I go."

"I'm up in here from a SYSTEM myself, kinda. Big ol' IMMERSIVE SIMULATION GENESIS APPARATUS s'where I come from, so I'm FOR SURE up in this to help. Lay the BIZ on me and I'll bring that HEROISM!"

Lexicon has posed: Conati stares, stunned, when this massive horned bull man just reaches out and...pats her on the head. Taking a moment to recover, she shakes her head. Well, there've been weirder programs. "You didn't scare me, I was just surprised someone as big as you got that close..!" She disarms easily, though. Glancing towards the business around Struo, she shrugs and goes back to Asterios, "Uh, I'm Conati, the Candidate here. You were curious?" Tapping her phone, she flips back to the title screen, "It's called Star Blazer. The enemies appear and shoot in time to the music you load up. Alea made it in a collab with Saltavi a while back." Names that she doesn't realize Asterios might not actually recognize.

A few meters away, in an apparently unconnected conversation, Struo straightens herself, then props an arm on her hip again. It still takes her a minute to really process the absurdity pouring out of Arthur's mouth, so she opts for the easier questions first.

"I appreciate your eagerness, this virus has been a real annoyance for everybody." Directed at Keiko, though info about Omega Panzer is somewhat relevant to everyone it seems, "It's actually caused trouble in all of the drives at some time or another." Eyes opening, she adds, "It even endured Tutela and escaped Mordion Gaol, no other virus has managed to pull that off." Lifting her free hand, Struo gestures, "It's very smart. Too smart for its own good. I suspect it came to Vector to try and steal technology to build a new battle form. It's usually a tank or a robot, but we know now that the machine isn't the virus; the virus pilots it from inside."

It's a bit amusing for Struo, watching Arthur's awkward reaction to physical contact courtesy of Deelel. The smug look on her face doesn't last long, though.

More in reference to Krusty and Arthur's requests, she nods once, "Yes, of course. I have every intention of showing you what Vector has to offer." As if in response, a skyride floats down. It's little more than a platform with a cockpit, occupied by a robot and ringed with railings. Confidently, Struo steps aboard, then holds her hands out to either side, "I'll give you the grand tour of the Eternal Factory, as its grand designer!"

Back near Asterios, Conati rolls her eyes, "Oh jeez, she's getting showy again... C'mon." Even though she wasn't apparently invited, that shorter girl that sat off to the side is already boarding the Skyride. And, when put next to Struo-- they actually do look remarkably similar. That's probably the only clue anyone will need when two black-haired, red-eyed girls are in the same place.

Arthur Lowell has posed: "Wait, so it's SURVIVED for a hella LONG TIME, it's mostly piloting a machine... Awwwww shit, homie, you talkin' a VIRUS that's got AUTOTOMIC SURVIVAL TRAITS? Damn bro!" Arthur says, briefly demonstrating a weird second side to his shenanigans. Wait, what was that? He moves on as quick as he can from the topic! He zips "aboard", drifting weightlessly just above the platform and matching his own personal gravity to its movements. "Hell yeah dog, gimmie that EYEFULL up in this."

he finally does seem to notice Conati. "Heyyyy, is this a SASSY CLONE sorta situation? I used to have TWO SASSY CLONES. Fuckin', I swear, WORST TIME that I've EVER had. You seem WAY COOLER than the last couple I dealt with." Yes, of course he intends to assault her hand with much the same extensive, elaborate, convoluted coolkid handshake. It transitions directly into a swooshy movement that ends with him leaning on the handrail; his pose is precisely calculated to look as cool as possible, and so it's obviously completely forced. "Hit me with those mad FACTORY FACTS, dog!" He says, doing a snapping fingergun at Struo.

Krusty (1149) has posed:Krusty watches with interest as the skyride flies down to meet them. It looks a little bare in function, but Krusty steps onto it without hesitation regardless. To Arthur's words about the virus and it's survival, Krusty remarks, "It does appear that virii in this world can be as self aware as the programs. While the first I encountered was essentially an animal, the second was clearly an intel-" He pauses, before saying, "Was clearly a person. So it's not a surprise that a stronger virus will have survived for quite some time."

The similarities between their host and the other girl that joins them does not go unnoticed by Krusty. He doesn't make any assumptions though, this being a rather strange world as it is. Although the suggestion of them being clones is doubtful to him. But being polite, Krusty gives Conati a smile and introduces himself, "I'm Krusty. Nice to meet you."

Silica has posed: Keiko watches the two sisters carefully, eyes flicking between Struo and Conati. She walks over to the Skyride, mounting it with a little bit of effort, favoring her braced leg. "So, it's a Virus that uses a shell to protect itself... Sounds like how some bacteria work... they can survive in even intense heat by making a shell around them..." she frowns a bit. "Except this one is using a shell like a vehicle..." she ponders, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "We'll have to come up with a plan to crack the shell, so we can crack the proverbial nut inside."

Deelel has posed:Deelel was being honest and just was over come iwth how happy she was to see Arthur she forgot herself for a moment. She looks sheepishly at Arthur for a moment before she says another thing. She looks back to their host now for a moment. She seems to be fine now with all things said. She thinks for a moment at what Arthur says.

"Many don't take well to having another iteration of them, if it is evil clones we are going to have a time of it."

She also sees Krusty is here again good he knows his stuff for a moment.

"A rare frew like Christmas are harmless and have proven they are."

She thinks though some of them have been down right the stuff of nightmares.

"Humm I'll trust you on that Silica. Biology still escapes me in many ways."

Asterios (1137) has posed: "Conati," the great big bullman says, having stopped patting her head after she went and shook it. He knows now better than to continue patting a girl's head when the moment passes. It musses their hair! And that is only a sometimes OK thing. "I am Asterios. It's good to meet you! And your sister." He turns his eyes again to the phone, blinking a couple of times. "Mmn, so it's... Music-based? I wonder... Does it get harder with faster songs? Or do slower songs have... bigger enemies?"

ASTERIOS IS INTERESTED IN GAME DESIGN.

(Don't let him near anything like that. He might just make Super Etrian Odyssey or something.)

But! It seems that the pair of sisters have plans regarding their visitors. Asterios nods and follows Conati along as the subject of conversation shifts to the virus, Omega Panzer.

It...

Sounds... familiar.

"A virus wearing shells... I fought something... similar." Asterios murmurs, remembering that incident back on Locus. "Some kind of dragon that was actually just a shell-body. Mmn... It was hard to destroy, but we managed. Is this the same kind of virus?"

Lexicon has posed: "Is that what they do?" Struo blinks as Keiko explains something about organic bacteria, "Very interesting. I've been wanting to study biologicals for a while. I'm sure the animals outside the System could inspire some very useful vehicles or robots." Closing her eyes, she places a hand to her collarbone, fingers splayed in that haughty, proud way some girls tend to do, "It's just a hobby of mine, really, though you might argue it's what I was made to do in the first place. I do like blueprint drafting, it's pretty relaxing."

With everyone aboard, the Skyride disconnects from the terminal. It dips slightly due to the weight, and the soft puttering of the engine has an audible strain to it for some reason, but it eventually does gain altitude again. The robot pilot glances back, and Struo gestures, "Circle the Cathoderal and come back here, via the assembly district."

"Actually yes!" Conati brightens as Asterios guesses game mechanics, "Or else slow songs would be too easy, right?" She doesn't even seem surprised that Asterios made the sister connection so easily. However, Arthur draws a look from Conati, even as her hand is briefly seized for the crazy coolkid handshake. Narrow-eyed and suspicious, and she asserts, "I'm not a clone." in a grumpy voice, "I'm the Drive Core Candidate for Vector."

This is where Struo starts, "--That's right..! This is my little sister, Conati." She hadn't forgotten her sibling, the younger one was just not involved in the conversation until now, "Thanks for joining us."

Conati lets out a sigh, placing her own hands on the railing. Below, several conveyors feed into automated structures, and rapid-moving mechanical arms can be seen moving about through a glass ceiling, assembling materials into mechanisms in quick succession, "Struo and I draft up nearly all the blueprints used here. She can design anything, it seems like, but I'm really only good at weapons. Since there's no wars going on, they're used to outfit anti-virus patrols and the Vector Navy."

"But," Struo chimes in, "She's really good at it, so I leave it to her." A compliment that cuts off some possible self-pity starting to show up. Bad time for dramatics..! Glancing over her shoulder, the DCC gestures, "This line is building transit. My goal is to completely replace Vector's public transport system by the end of the month." Lifting her gaze, she draws attention to the wing-decorated structure, "And that's my home! The Cathoderal." Eyes closing, she puffs up a bit with pride, "Every year I change the exterior, to keep things fresh. Modular exterior construction is something I'm very proud of. This year's theme is Processors."

Struo glances back towards Asterios, "Mm?" Eyes closing, she thinks. But she's not as connected as Lexicon, and admits that, "I'm not caught up on events in Locus, so I don't know what kind of virus you're talking about. They could be similar, I guess. Omega Panzer's been around for a few kilocycles, now, so it could be something pretty nasty inside. I heard about Caerbannog, the ancient ones are always the worst." With a shrug, she adds, "Or maybe it's just a brainy Malvader with an eyepatch, a scar, and a score to settle. We'll find out when we open it up like a can of olives."

Krusty (1149) has posed: Krusty leans against the railing as he looks down towards the view below them. He's rode his griffin often, so isn't troubled by the height. As he examines the view of the manufacturing process he listens. He's not a manufacturing expert so can't appreciate the finer points, but he gets the general idea, "An impressive goal." He turns to look at Struo, "Are you facilities solely dedicated to developing Vector, or do you provide your services to others as well?" Krusty asks, knowing that there are a couple of Alliance members who would be interested in what he's seeing today. And perhaps there's an opportunity to establish trade.

Of course when the Cathoderal becomes the main point of the tour, Krusty can't help admire the beauty and sheer majesty of the sight. Perhaps it's a little overboard, if only due to the large amount of effort that he would assume went into the construction. Still, you can't help but admire the results.

Of course as talk briefly touches on the virus in question, Krusty smirks a little, "Doesn't matter how nasty it is, or what kind of protection it's got. It will be dealt with."

Silica has posed: Keiko nods a bit to Struo. "They do, yeah... I could bring you some books I've been studying. I'm training to become a veterenarian, between helping people that is... I could let you borrow some of the beginner level anatomical analysis text books if you like." she offers, then moves to look out over the side of the platform. "It's really impressive..." and then she kind of sidles up beside Conati. "Weapons to protect your people with are also necessary. We all have our own strengths and specialities, trying to be like someone else will just make you lose sight of who you really are." The brunette has had experience with this, apparently.

Asterios (1137) has posed:The virus... has been around for that long!?

...Wait. Is a kilocycle a long time?

...

...

Asterios tilts his head. "What's a kilocycle?"

Beat.

But soon! The party is off on a magical (read: technological) carpet (shuttle) ride across the city's skyline. "Aa," Asterios sounds, staring with wide eyes at the... Rather expansive cathoderal. Those are some pretty incredible wings! "Mmn, very... Fancy. Fancier than the one in Britannica, but... What happens... when it gets windy? ...Do the wings break off?"

Beat.

"Mmn, weapon design is important," Asterios says, then. "So is city planning. I knew someone once, who helped design a city! And another, who built many amazing things. Flying machines. Inventions. I am... jealous, sometimes. I can only create mazes."

Arthur Lowell has posed: "Oh, okay, that explains the sass better." HEH. Arthur seems to accept this explanation with no trouble.

"Damn dog, you bring the STYLE on the ARCHITECTURE. Should'a had you around when I had to do the damn HOUSEBUILDS way back in the day. Doing that fresh nightmare of nonsense would'a been EASY with you 'round to do it." Arthur says, eyes wide and eyebrows high up on the top shelf of his face for a moment. He probably should avoid further mention of that around Asterios, considering his own probable outcome of interacting with Sburb.

"Damn though, you get in CIVIL ENGINEERING plus the ARCHITECTURE? Wait, EVERY YEAR. Hell, that's gotta be a WILD REBUILD. Whay's your BUILDING APPROACH like? Back where I come from it's mostly DRAG-AND-DROP COPYPASTE stuff." And the point of breaching their target? "HELL YEAH, I got PLENTY of MACHINE-FIGHTING RANKS." He pounds a fist into the opposite palm. "I'll bring the CAN-OPENING up on that motherfucker hardcore, NO DOUBT."

Deelel has posed:Deelel says "Biological life is very chaotic a series of glitches that worked out well."

She does not seem insulting it's just how she grasps evoultion of organic life. It's a series of errors that worked out well for the ones who had the errors. Quite different from the code that basics run in to be sure, utterly alien really. She listens for the moment.

"An old virus smart enough to not get deleted and to not destroy the host system it's infecting. Sounds like a lot of trouble. Oh what's an olive?"

This world has what her does not a system where programs can procreate unlike the Grid which is slowly wasting away in terms of popualtion thanks to Clu's actions.

"If he blocks out way I'm certain the Dual Disc can get past it, Krusty. Still the more inforamtion we have the better."

She finds it intereing with Silic's planned function in life she.

"Really so a healer of animals, correct?"

She got how humans and other organic life got attached to their pets and she could get it. They were like Bits on the grid after all.

Lexicon has posed: The Skyride drops altitude a bit to clear the wings mounted to the roof and walls of the Cathoderal. While the passengers awe over it, Struo closes her eyes and puffs up with pride. "They don't! If they did that'd be a disaster, but I'm not a novice at architectural design, here." An eye opens towards Arthur, and she adds, "I developed an interface. The automation takes care of the heavy lifting. It's a bit complicated since I didn't design it for widespread use, but if you're curious I can show you sometime."

The Skyride banks slightly, looping around the Cathoderal. On the side of the building, on a balcony, a figure in a gray suit glances up, then adjusts their glasses and resumes their business. Behind the structure itself is a rather nice-sized garden, repurposing some of what must have been natural growth before the city built up around it.

"Hey," Conati glances towards Keiko, "Don't console me, I'm not upset about anything. I mean, I appreciate the thought but I don't feel that way." She absolutely does. Though a bit of praise from Struo seems to have perked her up, and she glances up towards the wings of the Cathoderal, "I'm a fan of guns and like building them myself. The bigger stuff is all defensive. I mean, we have a navy but never use it, and it's run by this one flake in an admiral outfit who showed up one day." Closing her eyes, she laughs, "I mean, he even called one of the ships his wife. Super weirdo, but he knows how to run the dockyard, so."

To Krusty's question, Conati glances his way over her shoulder, "Right now we pretty much focus on Vector's development. But I bet if we fired up the secondary complex, we'd be able to export."

"Nah," Struo closes her eyes, cradling her chin in thought, "If we ran the secondary complex in conjunction with the primary, the Resource drain would be really heavy. We could only do that if I was the System Core Controller, and at most we could manage that for... a week?" Glancing aside, she adds, "It's a really competitive position. Saltavi has it right now."

She returns to her thoughtful pose, furrowing her brow, "There weren't any prototypes ready for manufacture, yet... If you're thinking Omega Panzer is here to grab our latest and greatest, I mean. He's probably going to salvage destroyed units and Frankenstein himself something new. He's done that before."

"Also," Conati glances the other way, "A kilocycle is about the same length as one year on the outside." A quick explanation for Asterios, "The time measurement is a bit different but there's a close enough analogue to compare." Glancing back down, she leans on the railing again, "...Also, thanks."

Silica has posed: Keiko smiles patiently at Conati. She doesn't say anything more, but reaches up to lightly pat the younger DCC on the shoulder, before turning her attention back to the conversation at hand. "So, a scavenger as well? That's good to know, so expect unpredictability in combat ability... I don't like unpredictable boss patterns..." she sighs. "But, I'll help out, definitely."

Krusty (1149) has posed: Krusty has to wonder at the wisdom of selecting such an apparently unqualified person as commander of a defense fleet. However it's apparently working so he doesn't dwell on it. But as to the answer about exporting, Krusty hmms thoughtfully, "A shame..."

More to the matter at hand, Krusty briefly ponders their eventual hunt. Looking at Struo he asks, "I assume you have some kind of lead on where we might find this virus?" Obviously before they can apply the beat down they'll have to locate him. Or potentially draw him out, "If he's looking for interesting tech to integrate into his machine, perhaps there is something that could be used as bait."

Deelel has posed:It's time to head out and she doesn't have much toruble with the ride as she looks to Conati for a moment. She hnobs her head a litlte bit.

"Firearms? Not too comon for where I'm from, but we have a few mostly you'd call them anti material weapons."

She thinks for a moment.

"Inter Drive trade levels of exports or multiveral level?"

She's curious about the line of thinking that Krusty question has exposed with Conati.

"So that's a fair amount of time. Sounds like cycle back home."

Asterios (1137) has posed:"Mmmn, so it's an ... old virus." SEE ARTHUR THIS IS HOW YOU HELP EXPLAIN THINGS. "I see. Age and feeding... has made it strong. So even if it doesn't take a new machine, it can still be dangerous. Mmn, maybe need to check an arms dump, or warehouse or... something like that."

Asterios pauses, then smiles and... Pats Conati's head.

"You do good work. Just saying what I am... seeing."

Arthur Lowell has posed: "PAULDRONS over there got some SOLID SCHEMES on this, damn." Arthur says, snapping a finger and pointing at Krusty. "If he's gettin' his ROAM ON 'cause the dude needs GEAR, just gotta find out where the GEAR is. You do a ton of REPLACEMENT on shit, right? Where's that FLOW headed on shit not gettin' RECYCLED? Follow the SCRAP, find the SCRAPPER, right?"

He ponders the matter of the admiral. "I actually HUNG AROUND a PLACE where you just DID WHATEVER YOUR COSTUME WAS. Had to straight fuckin' BEAT UP a JOKER in a SUN-GOD COSPLAY. Real son of a bitch. Ask him to TAKE OFF HIS HAT, and if he SWEATS then you DECK HIM ONE." He slams his fist into the opposite palm. "BAM!"

"NICE TOUR though, DAMN dog!" Arthur says, grinning and yanking out his smartphone from some strange game-inventory abstraction to take some photos of the Cathoderal. At least one ironic selfie is taken, but he refrains from doing more just for the sake of not being /too/ annoying to the others here. Just the regular amount of annoying.

Lexicon has posed: "Well," Struo glances towards Krusty, "That doesn't mean exports are out of the question. Just that we'd have limited windows to produce them." She shrugs, "Until I can develop more effecient construction machinery, it's one of the limitations Vector has to face right now." Eyes closed, she shrugs, "I don't like admitting my faults.. but there it is."

Both Conati and Struo look directly at Krusty for a moment, then at one another. After a moment, Conati nods once and turns away. Lifting up her phone again, she taps something. The word 'Ping' flashes a few times on the screen, then switches to 'Link'. A screen appears above it, depicting a distracted looking person, who doesn't react until Conati speaks, "Kei. It's me. My AX-3 project in the workshop? I want you to pack it up and send it to this location in the Steam district."

"Understood," Kei responds without looking, "It'll be there in ninety minutes."

"Good. Just drop it in the terminal and leave." This gets Kei's attention, and she glances towards the screen's camera in surprise. However, Conati cuts the connection before any questions could be asked. Tucking her phone away, the Candidate grins, "We'll use my new cannon prototype to lure him out. If he's a tank again, he'll want a really good gun on top, and who could resist a 'misplaced' prototype from the Cathoderal itself?"

Struo grins, "Then I guess we're taking a detour. Skyride!" The robot steering the platform beeps, "Take us to the Steam district, offload terminal C18." The machine reacts by gently banking towards one of the clearly older districts of Vector, lower structures, less advanced archiecture. Almost Victorian, with the brass and brickwork present, contrasting the metal and glass of the more central assembly plant and Cathoderal.

Conati closes her eyes again when patted on the head, "--Jeez, this again..?" She bats at Asterios' hand as he retreats it. Almost like a cat, "Thanks, I guess."

Struo moves to the front of the craft, folding her arms again, "It's a great idea. The Steam district is mostly outmoded, so we've been using it to gather broken equipment and break it down. A prototype cannon getting mis-delivered for scrapping in a place a scavenging virus is likely to be...Heh..!" Tilting her head down, the black DCC grins, "I'm kind of excited for this. Not only do we get a chance to delete a virus who's plagued the System for years, but I get to boast to the other DCCs that I did what they couldn't..! Heh heh heh..!"

...

Struo glances over her shoulder at Conati, her expression inquisitive. Conati's response is a simple, wordless thumbs-up. There's next to no context to this exchange, but seems to be important to Struo-- who resumes looking ahead with a grin on her face.

Krusty (1149) has posed: "None of us are without faults, it's what makes things interesting." As for the issue about potential exports, "But that is good news. I will mention this to the crafting guilds in the Alliance. Perhaps even limited manufacturing capabilities will be useful to us, as we don't have much of our own." While Akihabara has a number of great minds working to improve their technology level, they don't really have the resources or manpower for mass production of the things they discover. Speaking of, "Perhaps they might even be able to assist you with your own efforts to expand." A fair trade!

For now though, they have a virus to hunt and a quest to complete. As Krusty's suggestion is accepted, he watches with interest as the city changes from more advanced machinery to steam based. Not something you see every day. At Struo's excitement, Krusty smiles, "I'm happy to assist." He looks forward too, eagerly anticipating the fun that's soon to be had.

Arthur Lowell has posed:Arthur Lowell says, "Also if you stand in here you will probably be spammed with my codetesting sorry."